Christmas has come early for a Queenstown church after "a considerable" amount of money handed to the police in September was returned to the finder.
The church held a jumble sale on September 19 where items donated by the community were given to those in need.
Between September 14 and 19, a woman's white jacket was dropped off at the church in a box with other items, and when church volunteers were going through the pockets, they found the money in a clear plastic bag.
The jacket was an XL, white, three-quarter length Columbia puffer jacket, with a fur-trimmed hood.
The money was all in New Zealand dollars.
The church leader handed the money to the police.
In the weekend, the money was handed back to the church.
Sergeant Brian Cameron, of Queenstown, said there were different time periods for police to hold property handed to them, depending on the property.
However, there was a catch for the church: it may not be able to spend the money it found.
"There is a condition that if the owner is subsequently identified, [the finder is] to return that property to police for disposal."
Sgt Cameron said there was no time period for the rightful owner to claim the money back.
Police would not reveal how much money was found.
